Skopje, 6 December 2024 (MIA) – The Economic and Social Council (ESC) will hold Friday its second session at the government, which will include discussions on increasing minimum wage.

Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski will hold a news conference after the session, scheduled at noon.

Announcing the session a week ago, Economy Minister Besar Durmishi said it will focus on raising minimum wage. Minister Durmishi said that the Budget includes funds for this purpose, but the amount of the increase should be discussed with all stakeholders. The Federation of Trade Unions, which during a protest rally on May 1 demanded an increase in all wages, including the minimum wage to EUR 450, said that the arguments are on their side.

Durmishi said there is political will to increase the minimum wage, but all stakeholders must be heard.

"I would like to see the minimum wage at EUR 600 even. The demand is for EUR 450, I would like to see it at EUR 600. But let's hear all the stakeholders, let's open the topic in the first days of December. We will hear all the stakeholders, we will also see the possibilities of the Government, whether as many funds have been provided and whether there is a possibility. We will also hear what the employers say, because they are also stakeholders here, and in the end, we will make a joint decision,"Durmishi said. 

According to Durmishi, funds have been earmarked to increase the minimum wage by around 2,000 denars, which is in line with the legal solution according to which the minimum wage would increase by 1,600 to 1,800 denars in March.

Such an increase, according to the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia leader, Slobodan Trendafilov, is not enough to meet basic needs, and the increase in the minimum wage will not be too much of a burden on the state budget, given that around 35,000 workers receive pay equal to or below the minimum wage.

"According to the latest data, in Macedonia, 25,000 workers receive pay equal to the minimum wage, and 10,000 workers receive pay from one denar to 22,000 denars, but what is shocking is that all of these workers receive pay in an envelope for which no mandatory social insurance contributions are paid, and this costs the state about 250 thousand euros annually, i.e. unpaid contributions to the Fund," Trendafilov said.

According to him, the dialogue is open regarding the minimum wage and the arguments are on the unions' side. 

"Seeing that the minimum wage in Montenegro is EUR 600 to 800, the minimum wage in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be EUR 600 from January 1, in Serbia it is EUR 544, and the consumer basket is at 62,000 denars, it shows that wages must increase. We are discussing this issue also considering the Government's measures to limit margins and I think that at the next ESC session we will present our arguments to convince them of the need for an increase in all wages, including the minimum wage," said Trendafilov. 

The Economic and Social Council held its first session on October 10, when Minister of Economy and Labor Besar Durmishi, trade union leader Slobodan Trendafilov, Vladanka Trajkoska, head of the Employers’ Organization of Macedonia, as well as social partners signed an agreement on constituting the new composition of the Council. The Minister of Economy and Labor is the new chair of the Council, whose members include the ministers of social policy, education and finances. 

MIA file photo